This invention relates to an improved football lacing system. More specifically, this invention relates to a lacing system for closing the bladder seam of a football and for providing improved grip to throw an effective spiral pass.
The proper gripping of a football for the purpose of throwing a spiral pass is particularly problematic for youngsters. A wide variety of alternatives have been proposed in the past for improving the grip on a football. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,962 of Finley and 6,514,164 of Parrett are directed to improvements in the tactile surface of the material for constructing the football in order to enhance the user's grip. U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,097 of Kennedy et al proposes a counter weight diametrically opposed to the conventional lacing in order to better balance the football for improved spiral passes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,882 of Horkan provides a Velcro lacing system with a corresponding Velcro fingered glove in order to improve the user's grip and to impart a proper spin to the football. U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,785 of Bartels simply repeats the lacing pattern numerous times around the football so the user does not have to rotate the ball as much in order to place the fingers of the throwing hand on a set of the football laces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,648 of Mallick provides a recess in the exterior surface of the football, apart from the conventional laces, so the user can better grip the ball at the recessed region. A similar technique is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,660 of Adler et al which provides for individual finger recesses for grip improvement. However, the latter patent is directed to a molded football as opposed to a conventional bladder-containing football.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,504 of Kralik teaches a molded plastic lacing assembly mated to a corresponding fastener plate that totally replaces conventional laces. The purpose of Kralik is not to improve grip or tactile stimulus, but to provide a faster and economic manufacturing alternative to the tedious and time consuming process of hand lacing.
Therefore, a need remains in the field of youth sports for a football lacing system applied to a traditional bladder-containing football to improve grip and to enhance the throwing of a spiral pass. The primary objective of this invention is to meet this need.